Slade Alive!

Slade

Ain’t nothing xmassy and cuddly about Slade as a live band, as heavy as any of their fellow midlanders launching metal. Much needed reissue - get to know!

Slade Alive! is the first live album released by the British rock band Slade. The album was released on 24 March 1972, and reached number two on the UK Albums Chart, as well as being Slade's first album to dent the Billboard 200 in the United States, where it peaked at #158. The album contained original songs, plus cover versions of songs by Ten Years After, The Lovin' Spoonful, Bobby Marchan, and Steppenwolf. Since its release, the album has gained recognition as one of the greatest live albums of all time.

After the success of Slade singles Get Down and Get With It, Coz I Luv You and Look Wot You Dun, Slade set out to capture their live sound on record. After the commercial failures of previous albums Beginnings and Play It Loud, the only income was through the band's solid live reputation. Slade Alive! was recorded at the Command Theatre Studio in London, for a cost of £600, and released without overdubs of any sort in March 1972. A number of lucky fan club members had been present over the course of a three night run. The album consisted of covers of Ten Years After's Hear Me Calling, John Sebastian's Darling Be Home Soon, Little Richard's Get Down and Get With It which became a top 20 hit for the band in mid-1971 and Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild which had also appeared on the band's debut album Beginnings (1969). The album peaked at #2 in the UK Albums Chart, and remained in that listing for 58 weeks. In Australia, Slade Alive! was the biggest selling album since The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
On 6 February 2006, Classic Rock Legends released an independent critical guide to the album, under the title Slade Alive! - The Ultimate Critical Review as part of the series "The World's Greatest Albums".

Now, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the band’s dramatic breakthrough, a very special Art Of The Album deluxe edition of that incredible album will be released on 29th September 2017. Featuring new sleevenotes within both the CD & 180g LP formats recalling the story of the band’s conception and the album’s creation. Comprehensively researched and written by renowned music journalist Chris Ingham, these new sleevenotes cover in-depth the story of the album & the period in which it was written & recorded, the key players in its creation, the craft and instrumentation, the impact upon release and its legacy 45 years later. The booklet is accompanied by photos from the archive of Barry Plummer who was there at the time, documenting the band onstage as they recorded this seminal masterpiece.